History: from the pioneers to present…

To overcome the decimation of wild populations, spat collection tests were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century, but the technique was only developed in the late 1950s. There was a renewal of interest in pearls in the 1960s and the first grafts were carried out by the French Fisheries Service, and the first grafted pearls were harvested in 1965. In the 1970s, through private initiatives, this oyster began being cultured for pearl production and a market was developed for Polynesian black pearls. The first substantial pearl harvest took place in 1978 (30 000 pearls) and this activity began developing after 1985

Culture techniques and production cycle

Spat for culturing is collected in the natural environment by setting on artificial substrates. After 12-24 months without any intervention, the oysters grow to 5-10 cm and are then set on oyster-rearing chains suspended from subsurface longlines at 6 to 10 m depth. 4 000 to 10 000 oysters are set on each of these 200 m oyster-rearing chains, which are spaced 10 m apart.

Production patterns

In 2001, Polynesia was the second-ranking world exporter of unworked cultured pearls (21.5% of the demand) and black Polynesian pearls were mainly marketed in Hong Kong (42.8% in value) and Japan (40.8%), followed by USA (6.9%) and France (3.2%).

Product value enhancement

Pearl quality is controlled by the French Territorial Services (minimum thickness of 0.8 mm of mother-of-pearl around the nucleus, roundness and defects). The pearl producing and trading professions are also becoming standardized.

Pearl culture figures

1 100

pearl oyster farms, including a few very large companies that produce 75% of marketed pearls, along with many small family-based farms